"New" Technology Detects and Kills Vampire Power Suckers

Smart power strips have been around for a good long time. But a technology has been developed to automatically detect when plugged-in devices are sipping power in stand by and turn them off...with a twist.

Spanish inventors have worked out a way to detect when devices are in stand by, shut them off completely, and - here's the new-ish part - allow them to start again without going through their boot-up sequence.

However, we're not so sure it is the "final solution" to vampire power. Their patented algorithm, named Good for You, Good for the Planet, is similar to Green Plug. The technology is held within a chip that could go into both a smart power strip and electronic devices directly. A hotel chain in Spain (where the rain falls mainly on the plain) is testing prototypes. We’ll wait for their verdict to see if this tech will go far.

In Mr. García's system, a microprocessor cuts off power to the appliance automatically. When the appliance is reactivated by pressing a button, it goes back into standby mode. It doesn't have to go through its start-up sequence again.

Existing appliances can be plugged into a power strip containing Mr. García's standby-kill chip, which he provisionally calls "100% Off." Mr. García says he is talking to electronics manufacturers about incorporating it directly into their new devices.

The technology works with every existing device that has a standby feature, so we won’t have to wait for gadget manufacturers to incorporate the chip in their products like we do with similar concepts. Granted, there are some home items that absolutely have to be on standby to function – such as a security system – but a power strip set up at the home entertainment area or kitchen could go a long way in helping curb vampire power.

This technology is definitely still in the start-up phase, and we're very curious to learn more about exactly how it works. For now, we're pretty sure that this is not going to be the end all be all solution to our standby power woes. We’ll keep an eye out for updates on this product.